War

MIDDLE EAST AVIATION - World War IBiblio.com

X Aircraft Depot at Royal Air Force Alexandria & Aboukir 1916-1919.

1919ref. 1881971919. The nuts and bolts of the air war in the desert Superbly detailed visual record of the RAF's central logistical hub for the Middle East theatre serving the region from Egypt to the Hejaz. The depot offered complete servicing from erection out of the crate to scrapping after strike off. Images include personnel groups exteriors and interiors of workshops warehouses hangars and auxiliary buildings: a complete survey of the staffing and facilities of the complex. The prints are of striking quality the images sharply focussed and crisply printed rewarding close examination under a lens with a wealth of detail. Perhaps the most arresting photographically are the shots of the storage spaces unoccupied aisles extending into the distance filled with fastidiously ordered ranks of parts; a touch uncanny but effectively evocative of scale and rigorous organization. Based at RAF Aboukir Abu Qir near Alexandria X AD was the largest such facility in the region part of a complex including an airfield home base for a flight school and several training squadrons - craft where identified Nieuports and SE-5s bear tail numbers assigned to regional trainers - all of which continued in use until the end of WWII. The present copy is uncaptioned but comparison with records of the two copies traced through auction - the only others found - it is possible to identify a number of the images: various groups of personnel HQ staff carpenters fitters stores staff football and gymnastics teams; the headquarters buildings; tool stores; the contents of the parts stores encompassing small fabric pieces aircraft fittings spare wings and planes motor machine-gun engine and balloon spares; the depot's motor transport vehicles mainly Crossley tenders; the base tennis courts; the engine-erecting shop; outdoor engine testing; hangars; the riggers' shop dismantling shop dope shop and salvage hangar. Landscape album 195 x 260 mm containing 66 original official gelatine silver prints including title page 100 x 155 mm some with light sepia toning mounted on 34 leaves of greyish yellow light card. Cord sewn into greyish yellow light card wraps. Covers worn creased and stained with some areas of loss to the extremities; but the contents clean and sound the photographs themselves crisply defined and with great tone; very good. paperback

Peter Harrington · United Kingdom£2,500.00≈ €2,985.86

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